MUMBAI: Sharad Kalaskar, 31, who was convicted in May 2024 by a Pune trial court for the 2013 murder of rationalist and anti-superstition activist Dr Narendra Dabholkar, told the Bombay High Court on Thursday that no prima facie case had been established against him during the investigation and that no evidence was led against him at trial.
Kalaskar has filed an appeal against his conviction and sought bail before a division bench of justice Suman Shyam and justice Shyam Chandak.
Appearing on Kalaskar’s behalf, advocate Nitin Pradhan argued that the prosecution had failed to produce any evidence linking his client to the Sanatan Sanstha, a Hindu nationalist organisation that has been under scrutiny for its alleged role in the murder.
Dr Dabholkar, founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), was shot dead on the morning of August 20, 2013, during a routine walk in Pune. The killing was allegedly carried out by two men on a motorcycle, later identified as Kalaskar and Sachin Andure—both reportedly affiliated with the Sanstha. While both were convicted earlier this year, the court had also criticised investigative agencies for failing to identify the masterminds behind the plot.
Sanatan Sanstha has also been linked to the killings of other prominent rationalists and thinkers, including CPI leader Govind Pansare and scholar MM Kalburgi.
In the Dabholkar case, three other accused—Virendrasingh Tawade, Sanjeev Punalkar and Vikram Bhave—were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
During Thursday’s hearing, Kalaskar’s counsel questioned several aspects of the investigation and trial. He submitted that the firearm allegedly used in the crime was recovered in August 2013 at the instance of two other individuals—Vikas Khandelwal and Manish Nagori—but neither the weapon nor the duo were mentioned in the chargesheet or examined during trial. Though the firearm was sent for forensic testing, the prosecution failed to establish any ballistic link between the gun and the pellets recovered from Dr Dabholkar’s body, Kalaskar claimed.
He also argued that key police officers involved in registering the FIR and conducting the investigation were not examined by the prosecution, and thus could not be cross-examined during trial.
Kalaskar further pointed out that several alleged conspirators had been acquitted and that the weapon said to have been used in the shooting was never formally introduced as evidence during the trial.
The high court has posted the matter for further hearing on August 21.